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Sunday

CASE STUDY NO. 2: Company sale

Jason Kucharski (pictured) wasn't actively looking to build his business beyond his physical therapy practice, Total Joint Rehab in North Ridgeville, until he learned in fall 2013 of an opportunity to acquire a similar practice on Cleveland's East Side.

Michael Lepp, a client of their mutual billing company, was planning to shutter his long-standing eponymous physical therapy business in Mayfield Village and retire to North Carolina.

“Mike and I met a couple times, and we determined we had similar goals about how we like to treat patients,” Kucharski said. “Once I performed my due diligence and determined the deal was viable, we hammered out the details on a one-page document.

“We could've sealed the deal with a handshake and a check,” Kucharski said.

But legal intricacies delayed the sale, which meant Kucharski and Lepp had to reduce their transition period from five months to six weeks.

“Once attorneys and the bank became involved, we had this ironclad 33-page agreement,” Kucharski said. “We were shooting for the sale to be complete in the beginning of the year, but it didn't close until March 31. My schedule was pretty crunched during those couple weeks of transition.”

Here's one lesson learned: When Kucharski purchased the business — now called Mayfield Physical Therapy — he purchased its tax ID and national identification provider numbers, which help third-party payers and insurance companies identify the business.

“Looking back, I should've applied for new numbers and it would've been a much quicker process,” he said.

“Private insurance companies were fumbling all over trying to figure (the transition) out.”

With the ownership change complete, Kucharski said he is retrofitting Mayfield Physical Therapy's space to a more open-air treatment environment and adding exercise equipment, as well as managing both practices' growth.

“I'm turning my focus to growing the businesses, rather than just running them,” he said.

Lepp said he couldn't be more pleased with the sale's timing and new leadership in place, though, in retrospect, he said he should've allowed more lead time before initiating his departure.

“There are things you don't think about, like the different ways you can buy a company. In our case, Jason purchased my business's stock,” Lepp said.

“In the end, it all worked out. I know the business I had for 32 years is carrying on with someone who's taking good care of my former patients.”